Rochester Quaker Meeting House

Rochester Quaker Meeting House

This Grade II listed building is a Quaker meeting house dating from 1780-1781, with a classroom and gallery extension added around 1812, and a further extension and alterations carried out in 1990 designed by Belcher and Clapson.

The main meeting house is constructed of red and purple bricks laid to Flemish bond with timber weather-boarding and a clay tile roof. It is a single-storey full-height rectangular structure oriented north-west to south-east, with a small flat-roofed porch on its north-west front. The early-19th-century extension is a two-storey rectangular building on the north-east side, with a single-storey lean-to extension to its front. The 1990 extension on the south-west side is single-storey and rectangular, providing a small meeting room, kitchen and library. All units have hipped tiled roofs.

The building stands to the south side of Northgate in Rochester's historic centre, just within the line of the Rochester Town Wall. The main north-west elevation displays the single-bay front of the early-19th-century extension, the three-bay front of the main meeting house, and the single-bay front of the 1990 extension. The early-19th-century extension's front includes two small ground-floor windows in the lean-to and a six-over-six sash window on the upper storey. The main meeting house features a recently-built single-storey brick porch with a double-leaf entrance door in the central bay, above which is a four-over-eight sash window. The flanking bays contain large twelve-over-twelve sash windows. All three window openings are straight-headed with flat gauged brick arches and stone sills, with tuck-pointed brickwork. The 1990 extension includes a three-over-six sash window in a straight-headed opening with flat gauged brick arch and brick sill.

The south-west elevation is obscured by a brick wall enclosing the building and its front garden. The rear south-east elevation comprises, from left to right, a three-over-six sash window lighting the 1990 extension, three four-over-eight sash windows under segmental arches on the upper level of the main meeting room, and six-over-six sash windows to both storeys of the early-19th-century extension. This rear elevation of the main meeting house has a high battered brick plinth with a broad rendered band above, with the plinth continuing at an even higher level to the south-west return and a four-over-eight sash window above it. The brickwork is plainly pointed. The rear of the early-19th-century extensions is rendered and includes a brick stub wall projecting south at the south-east corner.

The north-east elevation facing Corporation Street is irregularly disposed, comprising from left to right two nine-paned windows under segmental arches on the ground floor, a lateral chimney stack, and a small six-paned window under a segmental arch. One nine-paned window under a segmental arch to the left of the chimney stack lights the upper storey, whilst the upper storey wall to the right of the chimney stack is clad in timber weatherboarding.

The early-19th-century extension is slightly taller than the 18th-century main meeting house, which is itself taller than the single-storey late-20th-century extension. The main meeting house has a timber cornice with dentils. All three principal roofs are hipped and covered in clay tiles.

The front entrance porch leads into a lobby area extending the full width of the main meeting house. Doors to right and left lead into the 1990 extension and the former classroom of the early-19th-century extension respectively. The lobby is divided from the main meeting room by a wall inserted perhaps during works completed in 1990, with two modern doors leading into the full-height main meeting room.

The main meeting room is plainly plastered and painted. A raised platform extends around three sides of the interior, supporting fixed benches incorporated into a dado of plain horizontal pine panelling. The panelling is raised on the south-east wall, which is divided into three bays by two full-height pilasters. The north-east wall includes built-up openings at ground and first-floor level, where formerly shuttered openings enabled communication between the main meeting room and the early-19th-century extension. A door opening in this wall leads into the ground floor of the early-19th-century extension. A staircase in the extension's north-east corner gives access from the ground-floor facilities to the former gallery above.